Featured Works:

William Toutant: Quarantine Quartet

Peter Dickson Lopez: MISE-EN Series II, Episode I

Noam Faingold: Where Our Voices Hide When We Must Speak

Leopold Brauneiss: De natura silentii

The Lehner Quartet brings vibrant energy and impeccable precision to our 1st New Classics album, a bold collection of brand-new string quartets that redefine the boundaries of chamber music. Each composition, meticulously crafted by rising contemporary composers, offers a fresh perspective on the timeless string quartet format. From the hauntingly beautiful to the explosively rhythmic, these pieces explore a wide range of emotions and soundscapes, showcasing the Lehner Quartet’s mastery and versatility. This album is a thrilling testament to the future

of classical music, where tradition meets innovation in every note.

To listen on audio platforms (Spotify, Amazon, Apple, YouTubeMusic, Deezer) click on this link:

https://bfan.link/modern-classics-vol-1-1

William Toutant

Peter Dickson Lopez

Noam Faingold

Leo Brauneiss

Composers' bios:

William Toutant

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts.  He received his BA and MA from The George Washington University and his Ph.D. in music theory and composition from Michigan State University.  He joined the music faculty of California State University, Northridge in 1975.  During the next 38 years he not only taught in the Department of Music, but he also served in a variety of administrative positions including Dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication. For eighteen years wrote and hosted the weekly radio program, “The KCSN Opera House.”  He became Professor Emeritus in May 2013.  His music is available on North/South, Capstone, Centaur, Phasma, Ariel and Navona records.  He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Ligia Toutant.

Peter Dickson Lopez

As an internationally performed composer, Lopez traces his musical roots to a broad range of influences from his tenure as a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley (USA), as a Tanglewood (USA) Fellowship Composer, and as recipient of the George Ladd Prix de Paris (1976-78).

World premieres of recent works have been performed by the Sydney Contemporary Orchestra in Sydney, Australia (2017, 2018), the Ensemble MISE-EN in Seoul, South Korea (2018), and the Lviv Philharmonic Society in Lviv, Ukraine (2022). Navona Records released a recent work of Lopez, MISE-EN Series II Episode I for Amplified String Quartet and Acousmatic Sound, in July 2023.

Noam Faingold

Composer Noam Faingold (b. 1984) is passionate about composing and collaborating in traditional, multi-disciplinary, and cross-genre projects. Faingold’s music has been praised as "...lyrical...", "...exhilarating...", and "...a tour-de-force of Jazz melded with Classical" by The New York Times, The BBC, and Downbeat Magazine, among others. Highlights include works composed for Leilehua Lanzelotti (Pulitzer Prize finalist), cellist Inbal Segev (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center), Oboist Rob Botti (New York Philharmonic), and violinists Domenic Salerni (Attacca Quartet), Jesse Mills (Horszowski Trio), and Itamar Zorman (Lysander Trio), and the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, performances by chamber ensembles the Argus Quartet, PubliQUARTET, and Fidelio Trio, pianists Michael Brown (CMS) and Peter Dugan (Host of NPR’s From the Top), and arrangements for the London Symphony Orchestra, OK Mozart, and Pentatone Records.

Leopold Brauneiss

An Austrian composer, musicologist and teacher, based in Vienna. He studied at the University of Vienna (musicology) and the University of Music and Performing Arts (music education, piano, composition with Heinz Kratochwl) and received his doctorate in music in 1988. From 1990 to 2010 he has thought music theory at the J.M.-Hauer conservatory Wiener Neustadt, since 2004 he has been lecturer for harmony and counterpoint at the University of Vienna, since 2006 he has held a lectureship in harmony, counterpoint and instrumentation at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig, The main field of his musicological research is the so called Tintinnabuli Style of Arvo Pärt, whom he has known personally for over 20 years. His works have been performed by renown artists such as Gidon Kremer, ensembles like Kremerata Baltica and orchestras like Tonkuenstlerorchester Niederoesterreich and have been presented at prestigious festivals like Wien Modern and Kammermusikfestival Lockenhaus. 

Published by Cicerone Music and Art (CiMA)